Earrings Helped Shape This Indigenous Artist’s Two-Spirit Identity
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Geo Soctomah Neptune—an Indigenous (Passamaquoddy) basket weaver, drag artist, and model based in Indian Township, Maine—has been collecting earrings since childhood. You can certainly tell when taking a tour through their vibrant earring wall (yes, they have a whole wall dedicated to their impressive collection). Neptune owns more than 75 one-of-a-kind pairs, each one telling a story and made by a different Indigenous artist. Much more than mere accessories, they’ve served as a tool to help shape Neptune’s nonbinary, Two-Spirit identity.
Neptune started to discover themselves when they first started doing drag as their alter ego, Lyzz Bien, as an 18-year-old. At the time, Neptune went by “George” and didn’t identify as Two-Spirit—an Indigenous term for those possessing both male and female spirits, living freely between the two. Still, they started to collect Indigenous-made earrings specifically for drag performances. “I felt like drag was the only time I had permission to wear big Native earrings,” says Neptune. “As I started to more openly express my gender identity, earrings were the way I started to do that.”
Their first pair of earrings, a beaded and quillwork set, was a gift from a friend. They then began amassing copper and wampum styles, a signature of their Passamaquoddy tribe. Through dressing up for drag, however, Neptune began realizing that there wasn’t much of a difference between their off- and on-stage personas: George and Lyzz. “I still had this separation between those two parts of myself, but a lot of the struggle that I felt was that they weren’t separate from each other,” says Neptune. It was then when they realized they may be Two-Spirit. “I got the spiritual and ceremonial [Two-Spirit] designation from my elders, and from that point on, there was much less separation between my wardrobe and earring collection,” says Neptune. “[It wasn’t] what belonged to Lyzz and what belonged to George—everything now belonged to Geo.”
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Since coming out as Two-Spirit and nonbinary—the two terms share similarities, though the former holds more cultural significance—Neptune has only continued to grow their earring collection. “I look at my collection and see how far I’ve been able to travel, all the people I’ve been able to interact with, and collect from,” says Neptune. They have traveled to different leading Native markets—such as the annual Santa Fe Indian Market, or the Heard Market in Phoenix, Arizona—to shop for them. They’re a big online shopper as well. Earrings from artists such as Elias Jade Not Afraid and Tania Larsson—both of which are in Neptune’s collection—are known to sell out in seconds. “There are a few artists that only sell online and you have to be the first one to comment,” says Neptune. “I literally upgraded the internet speed at my house [for the sales.]” Often, Neptune says they will trade their own baskets for earrings, too. “I’m a real sucker for the trade,” says Neptune. “I’ve gotten a pretty extensive collection that way.”
Some of Neptune’s current favorite styles on their earring wall? They own metal and steel earrings from artists like Pat Pruitt and Keri Ataumbi, and a beaded floral style from Charlene Holy Bear. They also scored a dangly, dentalium shell set from a collaboration between artists Jamie Okuma and Molina Jo Parker. “Those I got because I logged in, put them in my cart, and checked out immediately,” Neptune says. “I was ready—I had an alarm set.” They also own a beaded Baby Yoda set by Kianga Lucas, which were made custom for Neptune. “They’re the earrings that made Kianga stand out to me as a beadwork artist,” says Neptune. “She s the reason I upgraded my Internet speed, because I was tired of never having any of her earrings. I have three pairs now!”
As their collection continues to expand, representing a variety of different tribes and styles, Neptune sees a sense of power in representing their culture through style. “Adornment was a big part of our life as Wabanaki people,” says Neptune. “There is this Western stereotypes that we were primitive—that our clothes were basic and only functional. They don’t see the beauty, detail, and craft that goes into everything.” They also see collecting earrings as an easy way to support their fellow Native creatives. “It’s a great way to show support for my friends who are artists and that I really respect,” says Neptune. “And, it helps me look like a bad bitch.”
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Photo: Sipsis Peciptaq Elamoqessik1/10Earrings by Geo Neptune
Photo: Sipsis Peciptaq Elamoqessik2/10Earrings by Alicia Marie
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